QuoteProject
Anarchism aims to strip labor of its deadening, dulling aspect, of its gloom and compulsion. It aims to make work an instrument of joy, of strength, of color, of real harmony, so that the poorest sort of a man should find in work both recreation and hope.
Emma Goldman
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Anarchism seeks to transform work from a burdensome task into a joyful expression of creativity and freedom.

In this quote, Emma Goldman articulates the vision of anarchism as a movement that aspires to liberate labor from its oppressive and monotonous nature. She emphasizes that work should not only serve as a means of survival but also be a source of happiness, fulfillment, and vitality, allowing even those in the most difficult circumstances to experience joy and hope through their work.

Themes

AnarchismLaborWorkJoyFreedomHarmony

In practice

Example use cases

Discussing the transformative power of labor in a community meeting.

More from Emma Goldman

On rare occasions one does hear of a miraculous case of a married couple falling in love after marriage, but on close examination it will be found that it is a mere adjustment to the inevitable.
Emma GoldmanRead
No one has yet realized the wealth of sympathy, the kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure.
Emma GoldmanRead
To the indefinite, uncertain mind of the American radical the most contradictory ideas and methods are possible. The result is a sad chaos in the radical movement, a sort of intellectual hash, which has neither taste nor character.
Emma GoldmanRead
John Burroughs has stated that experimental study of animals in captivity is absolutely useless. Their character, their habits, their appetites undergo a complete transformation when torn from their soil in field and forest. With human nature caged in a narrow space, whipped daily into submission, how can we speak of its potentialities?
Emma GoldmanRead
Anarchism is the only philosophy which brings to man the consciousness of himself; which maintains that God, the State, and society are non-existent, that their promises are null and void, since they can be fulfilled only through man's subordination.
Emma GoldmanRead
If love does not know how to give and take without restrictions, it is not love, but a transaction that never fails to lay stress on a plus and a minus.
Emma GoldmanRead

Similar quotes

Our institutions were not devised to bring about uniformity of opinion; if they had we might well abandon hope. It is important to remember, as has well been said, 'the essential characteristic of true liberty is that under its shelter many different types of life and character and opinion and belief can develop unmolested and unobstructed.'
Charles Evans HughesRead
People get angry at others who express a different opinion, while, in fact, they should be angry at themselves. But we must be angry at ourselves the most when we say something today, only to say something else tomorrow.
Bhumibol AdulyadejRead
We often think of choice as a thing. But a choice is not a thing. Our options may be things, but a choice—a choice is an action. It is not just something we have but something we do.
Greg MckeownRead
The issues which today confront the nation are clearly defined and so fundamental as to directly involve the very survival of the Republic. Are we going to preserve the religious base to our origin, our growth and our progress, or yield to the devious assaults of atheistic or other anti-religious forces? Are we going to maintain our present course toward State Socialism with Communism just beyond or reverse the present trend and regain our hold upon our heritage of liberty and freedom?
Douglas MacarthurRead
No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.
Francis Pharcellus ChurchRead
If Henry Miller often sounded like a village idiot, it is because, like Whitman, he was the rest of the village as well.
Gore VidalRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.